2006 Mazda 5 Sport AT Times 5

[JLANDERS]

Good afternoon all, I am literally brand new to this site and my first post. Purchased a 2006 Mazda 5 Sport AT a year ago and had the occasional problem with the throttle body sticking in limp home mode. Cleaned it really good several times before it would stop throwing the CEL at me. Fast forward 6 months later, been drivinig it fine with no problems. Until yesterday. Sitting at work, idling in park, it all of a sudden starting lurching and running rough. Set a constant CEL and the AT indicator light (neither flashing, constant on). While I had no throttle response, I was able to limp it home and I DID have access to all 4 gears. This tells me the problem is electrical/sensor in nature. So, I borrow a code scanner and the following codes come back:

P0103 Mass/Volume Air flow A circuit high input
P0507 Idle Air Control system revolutions per minute higher than expected
P2100 Throttle actuator control motor circuit open
P2119 Throttle actuator control throttle body range/performance
P2187 System too lean at idle bank 1

Now, reading this, I don't think my transmission is at fault - appears all related to the throttle body, right?

Can anyone recommend a course of action that does not involve going to the dealership? I realize we're all trying to do things on the cheap and I am no exception. Divorced but remarried, still paying off first marriage, got a new kid driver in the family and another one who just got her permit. I gotta do this CHEAP. If at all possible.

Recommendations or suggestions? Oh, I should mention that when I cleared all the codes this morning, it ran fine with just a barely perceptible hint of hesitation at idle. I just know this problem is going to happen again.

Thanks in advance.

 

[loosenut]

Most likely you're going to have to put a throttle body on it. Everything seems related to the throttle body not being able to correctly actuate. Once it detects a fault it will go into limp mode. Inspect the connector on the throttle body really well and wiggle it from the connector to as far as you can before it goes into the wiring loom. If its a connector issue this will hopefully catch it. The p2100 and p2119 tell me that the PCM is commanding a certain throttle opening but the throttle body motor is not able to obtain that opening, feedback is through two redundant throttle position sensors. The lean p2187 and maf p0103 make me wonder a little but it is not out of the realm of possibility that if the the throttle can't open correctly it will set these codes.
Edit: You may want to try cleaning the Mass Air Flow sensor first, and then see what happens, but I still think the TB will need replaced. By the way welcome to the forum.

 

[JLANDERS]

Thanks loosenut. It does all seem to point back to the TB being bad. I'll look into replacing it. I'm assuming I can grab one off any 2.3 Mazda 3, 5, or 6 with low miles in a junkyard? Assuming I don't just purchase a new one outright.

 

[loosenut]

Most likely yes on the 3 and 5. A little less sure about the 6. It comes down to the connector I think.

 

[JLANDERS]

Replaced throttle body - seemed to clear things up. Then a week or so later, I was filling up and noticed it had trouble cranking up. Now everytime I fill up it has a hard time starting. Ordinarily this would set the check engine light, however since mine is ALREADY ON, I have to assume it's related to the purge valve control solenoid - I'll have to replace. Now, the check engine light is on because when the car idles, it will stumble. Scenario: engine warmed up, in parking space idling and it will run rough and occasionally the idle speed will dip low enough to stumble and then correct itself. This of course sets off the check engine light, constant on, not blinking.

Thoughts? I'm really wondering why I bought this thing. I have always loved the Mazda 5's usability and driving dynamics for a "minivan" but this constant worry over the engine light, and the engine stumbling, the gas smell after refilling, and being hard to crank after filling, is really impacting my life for this vehicle.

 

[ROBOTO]

How did you get to the assumption that it is the purge solenoid?

From the errors you posted, the one that is weird to me is "P2187 System too lean at idle bank 1", I goggled it and it says that the solution is the purge solenoid

http://www.justanswer.com/mazda/48ens-mazda-3-car-stalls-when-starting-fill.html

The "expert" at that link indicates that it "should only take 15 min to replace". I am curios if this resolves the problem, please keep us updated

 

[Silentnoise713]

These codes are not Mazda5 specific. You are better off looking up Mazda3 or 6. These codes could also be the results of something else. One thing you look at is the PVC valve (pita to get to).

 

[JLANDERS]

Updating my old thread. Turns out it was the purge valve solenoid causing me grief. Replaced and ran fine. However, between my last post and this past weekend, over a year in the making, the van has blown the rear shocks (wear and tear), needed new rear brakes and rotors, needs new sway bar end links (rattling horrible but cannot remove due to corrosion/rounded bolts), has the bad front sway bar bushing which is a pain to replace, and most recently noticed that the passenger inner tie rod has gone bad. Ok those things can be fixed. But what broke this camel's back was blowing the a/c compressor on the highway Saturday morning. No more.

So, I'm done with Mazda. A shame, they were/are fun cars. Unfortunately my experience with 1990 MX6 Turbo, 1993 MX6 V6, 2003 Protege5, and the latest 2006 5 has shown me that they all have these little irritating details which seems to crop up sooner than expected, than with other makes and models. Again, in my experience. Yours may well differ. For me at least, that drove me this past weekend to trade the 5 on a 2015 Focus SE sedan. I'm at a different point in my life where I don't need the cargo capacity any longer, and would prefer the better gas mileage.

Thanks to all of you above who helped diagnose my various issues, and everyone on this site. I made frequent visits to diagnose my van's issues and the posts were so very helpful. Best wishes all!